Your Tax Dollars at Work - Monday 5/18/2009

Thank you, fellow Californians, for the much needed additional lane which is being built onto the 14 where it merges onto the 5. We really need it!



This project can't be finished too soon, as far as I'm concerned.

No kidding, for the first two weeks there was an accident every morning going southbound and every evening going northbound because they took away a lane on each side to make room for construction.

CalTrans really dropped the ball on informing drivers about the new lane configurations. Even though those big programmable message signs are in prime position in both directions to warn about the loss of a lane, I never saw them used to do that. Just messages about high winds all the way to the Antelope Valley, as if that was news to anyone.

So if you're headed up that way and you haven't been in a while, watch out for lane-loss, or for the guy next to you to suddenly realize he's running out of road and opt for a little of yours!

Please Pick Cherries - Tuesday 1/27/2009

This might be a good time to mention that my Canon A590, which I am willing to carry around in my backpack, is on the fritz. I don't want to carry my Nikon D80 around in a jumble with my notebooks everyday, so the last few shots have been taken on my new Samsung cell phone. T-Mobile has made downloading and accessing them very easy.

It doesn't take fabulous photos. It's only 1.3 megabytes. Then again, my first digital camera only had 1.5.

Actually the staticky look of this shot, taken through the screen of the window in front of my desk is expressive of the condition inside my head. The tree guys showed up around 7 a.m. and were still at it when I fled the office at 3:00 p.m.

It's not the trimming that is causing the fuzz in my brain, it's the incessant loud gnashing whir of the garbage-truck sized wood chipper that's been going non-stop all day.

Also, this morning I came within arm's length of being the 6th car in a 5-car pile-up coming around the big curve from the 14 to the southbound 5.

So I would have really preferred it if this nice gentleman had been using that cherry picker for its stated purpose!

Life in the Slow Lane - Friday 12/12/2008

The puppy's loving it. Me too.



After I got on the 14, the sky turned into a light show. I kept wishing I could easily stop and snap photos of the clouds and the mountains and the moon rising. Jumped out on the drive up to our neighborhood and took this one.

Good thing, too, because all the color was gone by the time I picked up the mail.

We started the weekend by going for sushi and picking up a Christmas tree! It's the freshest tree we've ever had. We had to be careful of the sap dripping out of it, and it was so heavy!

When you're living life in the slow lane, you don't feel compelled to decorate the tree as soon as you bring it home. Aaah.

Baracking the Vote

Today I went down to Obama/Biden Headquarters in Van Nuys and volunteered for a couple of hours. I've made some calls from home, but I wanted to help do data entry at the HQ. As it turned out, I became part of the phone bank, but that's okay.

This year is the first time I've volunteered on a political campaign, and I wish I'd started earlier. I made a couple of dozen phone calls a few weeks ago, got sick, and didn't start up again until yesterday.

Going to the HQ was really worth it. It was amazing to see a couple of hundred people sitting on chairs, on the floor, on window sills inside and outside, all making calls on their own cell phones. I was in a room with three other people, two of whom didn't have cell phones and didn't have any work to do, but were nice. The other woman was an incredible caller. It was fun to hear her talk to one woman in Indiana who really wanted to converse.

I left a lot of messages, racked up some wrong numbers, talked to a few undecideds and a couple of McCain supporters. I thanked them for participating in the process.

Most of the people I actually spoke with are planning to vote for Obama.

My favorite call was a guy in Ohio. The purpose of the calling today was to make sure voters know where their polling places are, and let them know if they aren't aware. Offer rides if they need them. And find out if they're planning to vote for Obama or McCain.

My guy said, "I want Bush to stay in office."

"Oh! Then.... I guess you'll be voting for McCain?"

"No, no. I'm just pulling your leg!" he laughed.

"Ha, well, you had me there for a minute!"

"Don't worry, baby. We're gonna make it happen. It's gonna be all right."

"We just don't want people to think it's in the bag."

"Don't you worry, baby. It's going to happen. You have a good night."

All in all, it was a really good experience.



And if I hadn't driven down to the valley, I would have missed the amazing colors on the drive home.



Trust me, this is way easier than dialing your cell phone.

Palm Wednesday

Just because I thought you needed to see this.

Those are palm trees reclining on a trailer. You can understand why I didn't frame the picture a little better.

The Road Home - Friday 8/1/2008

Hydra's favorite road cut... on Escondido Canyon Road heading toward Acton from Agua Dulce. It's a nice reveal when you drive through here.

It's easier to drive 55 and get better fuel economy on these smaller roads than on the highly competitive 14.


Hydra on Sundry's Mountain. Can you see him? Hiker Man!

Rumors of Sundry's Low Sense of Humor - Thursday 7/17/2008

have not been exaggerated.

Yeah, I admit it, this made me laugh out loud when I saw it!

Couldn't believe my good fortune when he actually pulled from the left lane to the right, right in front of me. There's a huge bundle of t.p. under the trailer, which you can't really see from this angle.

It's a good thing I'm easily amused. I may never win ten million dollars.

P.S. Happy Birthday to the stunning KittyW! Sorry you had to share the day with this image and with David Hasselhoff. It's his birthday too.


What were he and his handlers thinking when they agreed to this?

The puppies received therapy and are reportedly living fairly well adjusted lives.

Fire on the Mountain - Tuesday 6/1/2008

This is the view along Davenport Road. I don't always take this route, but Hydra called me right after my workout at the Santa Clarita gym and told me that the 14 was shut down due to a truck fire. This is a nice option.


A barn I love, in Agua Dulce. These people grow timothy and alfalfa. Makes me a little homesick.


The back side of Vasquez Rocks. The promos for the TNT series Saving Grace were filmed here and are airing right now.

Just One Question - Wednesday 6/18/2008

What's your position on digital cameras?

To Bike or Not to Bike - Saturday 6/14/2008

You might also be amused at the amount of attention this motorcycle garnered outside of Starbucks on Saturday morning.

Like me, everyone's thinking that these babies get some impressive gas mileage. And maybe we could just talk ourselves (and let's be honest, our spouses) into getting one.

I tell myself I'd never split lanes.

For those of you living in sane states, "splitting lanes" is the completely legal practice of driving a motorcycle between lanes of moving traffic. You aren't supposed to go more than 10 mph faster than the surrounding traffic. Really, they should warn you about this when you rent a car in California...it's not a nice surprise when you're figuring out he freeway system.

Be that as it may, I'd just use the carpool lane like a regular citizen. Even if the 5 was backed up for the entire seven miles between the 170 and the 14.

I'd get over to Sierra Highway as soon as I could. I'd never accidentally hit a patch of fallen rock and gravel and spin uncontrollably across the pavement and into the ditch, minus some major skin acreage...

See? That's the way it always ends up going, for me.



Meanwhile, back inside Starbucks, I was impressed with how well this woman pulled off these shoes.

Big Pretty Cloud - Tuesday 5/27/2008

Cloud over the mountains on the way home. Big pretty cloud.

A to Z - Wednesday 5/21/2008

I didn't even realize it until I sat down to write this entry, but I started out the day at Andrew's Diner (formerly Sitton's.) This stained glass is in the women's bathroom.



And on the way home, I finally remembered to stop and snap this for my friend, Toronto. She's due to have her second child in about a month. They don't know its gender yet, so they're calling it Baby Zed.

Pretty House - Tuesday 5/13/2008

This is just a pretty little house in Burbank that I pass sometimes on the way from Andrew's to work.

It's a lovely time of year in L.A. So much is in bloom!

The Morning and the Evening - Thursday 4/3/2008

I was running late getting out of the house when Hydra called and warned me to stay off the freeway. He could see the 14 was backed up where he crossed over it on Escondido.

Good thing, too! It was moving briskly at my entrande, but it turns out there was a SIG alert down around Agua Dulce. (A SIG alert means that it will take you at least 20 minutes longer than normal to get through a place.)

There were two big trucks with these generators or whatever on Sierra Highway. They'd apparently gotten off at Crown Valley to have some breakfast at Mickey D's rather than waste fuel in line.

I took off down dark Sierra Highway where everyone was uncommonly sensible driving through the dark and rainy morning.



When I arrived home, I was talking to Mom on the cell and she asked what it was like. I took this while talking to her and describing how the light was beginning to slant across the neighborhood. See how the gazanias to the left are starting to close up for the night, while a couple on the right are still basking in the sun?

I had a really good time teaching today. I think this is how it's meant to be, and that I'm getting my footing at last. I realized that both times when I talked more, the class actually went better. Huh!

We talked about how there are basic stories that are told over and over again with variations, and that the details are different. I asked how their parents met and told them how mine met. We're gearing up to rewrite the Cinderella story.

There's No Rush in This Hour - Friday 8/31/2007

Trust me, no one's life was endangered in the creation of this photograph. It was stop and stop and go on the 5 at the 118 around 4 o'clock Friday afternoon.

Amazingly, once I made it to the 14, everything was pretty much free and clear. Made it in about an hour and a half, which is good for a holiday weekend Friday. Plus I was able to talk to Mom on the cell phone (handsfree, yes) most of the way, which does an amazing job of keeping me calm.

Commute du Jour - Tuesday 6/12/2007

Weird morning. I had a lot of back pain last night, so I took a Flexeril 9 hours before I was supposed to get up. It said to take one every 8 hours, so I thought it would be worn off. Not so.

No way was I driving that loopy, so I turned off the alarm and went in late.

Just late enough to catch a SigAlert on the 14 southbound.

Luckily, I know this sneaky way through the mountains from Sand Canyon to Lakeview Terrace via Little Tujunga Canyon Road. The Wildlife Waystation, to which we've contributed both animals and cash, is along this road.

Fifteen miles per hour was way faster than the 14 freeway this morning!

Cool House - Friday 4/13/2007

I just like the way this house is situated off of Vasquez Canyon Road. The only problem with it is that there are huge power towers and lines around the other side.

Killer Commute Antidote - Friday 2/23/2007

Worked from home on Friday. Nice not to have to drive in and back. The weather turned out to be beautiful, but snow had been predicted. Just as well. It was a nice, calm day.

When Hydra came home, we looked at the Yellow Pages for a restaurant we hadn't been to. Went to a new Korean BBQ place in Lancaster. Very nice. I love all the litttle seasoned side dishes. Not so thrilled with my chicken...just so-so. But great atmosphere and yummy extras.

Which I would have taken a photo of for you, lined up on the table in peaceful white bowls, if I hadn't left my camera at home.

Pergatory - Thursday 2/22/2007

At the beginning of my commute. I knew it was going to be bad. After another interminable day an interminable drive. Two hours. Will I get any credit for this at the end of my life?

I just tried to relax and repeat my little mantra - I love my job. I love where I work. Luckily, I had Toni Morrison reading me Beloved, which is one of my favorite books.

Bad me, I stopped at Carl's Junior on the way, I was so hungry. Looked up the calories later. Oh. my. god. Never again.

Don't tell my mom

Took this photo over the dashboard while driving home on the freeway. I know it’s wrong. But the moon has been just TEASing me the last few days, popping up in the most beguiling places!

It’s there, just above the ridgeline a little left of center. Obviously, I couldn’t focus!

The light was so incredible. The sun setting behind me sent a golden glow across everything.